I am probably just paranoid, but I noticed the other day while getting ready to back out, that when I shift into reverse there is a slight "whirring" or "humming" noise coming from the transmission...

I had my foot on the brake, and the gear lever in reverse, I think I was just waiting for somebody else to clear the driveway...
But I started to notice the sound just sitting there twiddling my thumbs.

The truck makes no noise in any of the forward gears, only in reverse, and it's only whisper... Just wondering if anybody else can confirm this is normal?

 

which engine/trans is it?

the 4.7l w/ the 45rfe and 545rfe are known to make a ratcheting sound when changing from park to reverse or drive, or from revers to drive or back and forth.

 

Mine does the some thing. I believe I have the 44re, 5.2 motor.

 

I have not heard of this, however the #1 cause for a whirring noise at a stand still is slightly low transmission fluid. I'd go through the motions of checking that level to ensure it's got a sufficient amount of fluid in the pan, but of course it could be like shrp said, completely normal for the transmission to do it.

However, 98Rango with the 44re transmission it has bands rather than clutch packs and this is not normal. Mine has the 46re and my dually has the 47re transmission and neither of them make any sorts of whirring noises coming from the transmission. I have a feeling it's something other than the transmission, such as a bad bearing in the rear-end or something.

 

No, it's definitely the transmission. It does it while the car is still, only in reverse. It does the same exact thing as rob describes.

I am not 100% sure I have the 44re but I remember reading somewhere that all 98s came with the 44re.

 

Well in '98 they only had the 44re and the 46re so you got one of the two. It just depends which motor you have whether it be the 5.2 or 5.9 block. The 5.2 uses the 44re and the 5.9 uses the 46re transmission. Only the 4.7 uses the 545rfe also for the record.

 

Yeah. I have the 5.9L with the 46RE transmission. And as you all may remember, when I got the truck I had the transmission serviced... Not because anything was wrong with it, but because it was time, and I wanted peace of mind.

The transmission flush unit they used actually pumps the transmission fluid through the system using the tranny's pump, the machine does not pressurize the trans... The fluid wasn't all that bad to begin with. But again - peace of mind.

Then if you recall, I had some trouble the next day with the transmission not engaging, I would come to a stop, then step on the gas and it would take a couple seconds for the trans to engage. Which just turned out to be a fluid level problem. The trans was about 2 quarts low on fluid after the flush.


THEN I commented about smelling trans fluid inside the cab of the truck. I'm pretty sure it was Sharp or Widow who told me to look for a trans pan gasket leak. I looked, and sure enough there was a leak.

So at this point, we decided to drop the pan, purge the fluid... Replace the trans filter, and buy a new gasket (one of those metal + plastic "lifetime" gaskets) and then refill the trans.

So all the preventative maintenance has been done, and as I said before, everything looked really good when we had it apart. Plus the history of the vehicle is fairly good.

Yesterday, just for posterity sake, I went out back and put the truck in reverse... It started making the quiet whining noise, I held my foot on the brake firmly and then depressed the accelerator...

The truck started to torque backwards, it was nice and strong, the whining noise didn't get any louder or change pitch or anything... I don't think reverse is dying or anything like that.

Edit: For Spelling.

 

Well first you had the transmission power flushed, this is your #1 issue! You never flush a transmission!!!!!

 

I am just posting what I read. So I am not saying this is true or not.

I've read somewhere on the Interweb about the whirring noise you are experiencing, sorry don't remember the address. If I remember correctly someone, supposedly a Dodge mechanic, told the poster to place the gear selector in neutral for 10 to 15 seconds to get the fluid moving throughout the trans. There wasn't a reply from the OP so I don't know the outcome if there was any.

 

please read this piece of his post before saying that, he had it purged(he just used the wrong term), all the machine did was make sure the trans fluid didnt run dry in the pan